I SUCK at front end, but I love backend web development. For dynamic data (forms, db query returns, etc) the easiest thing for me to do is accept/return everything in JSON. A pure JSON based REST API if you will. Am I creating heaven or hell for someone on the frontend? What can I do to make their lives easier?
I would say that working closely together with the front-end devs is key. Listen to what they are trying to do, and see where you can help. Mind you though, that it should be balanced, because you want to avoid doing work that is unnecessarily complicated to make the life of the front-enders better.
- Automation. Automate builds, blue/green deploys, automate building and provisioning the feature branches so they can be tested and quality controlled.
- Document everything not automated.
- Create version matrixes that are automatically updated and easily available (JSON, YML, Markdown)
